Apple is close to reaching the 10 billion download mark for its App Store. To give some historical background to the store's success, the tech giant has just released its top ten lists for app downloads on the iPhone and iPad.

Apple's App Store opened its virtual doors to the public in 2008. It experienced massive success in a short time period, as it reached one billion downloads after just nine months of being in service. After that, the store's app downloads grew at monumental rate, as they reached 5 billion in June of 2010. The ten billionth download is set to come very soon, and Apple will celebrate the event by rewarding the person responsible for it with a $10,000 iTunes gift card.

In terms of paid apps for the iPhone, games are clearly dominant, as they hold nine out of the ten spots on the list. Doodle Jump holds the top spot in the all-time iPhone paid app downloads list. Tap Tap Revenge 3 is the second most downloaded paid app, while Pocket God comes in third. Despite its overwhelming popularity and praise, Angry Birds could only manage a fourth-place ranking. Rounding out the top ten are Tap Tap Revenge 2.6, Bejeweled 2 + Blitz, Traffic Rush, Tap Tap Revenge Classic, AppBox Pro Alarm, and Flight Control.

The iPhone's top free apps tell a different story, as only one game made the top ten. Not surprisingly, Facebook comes in first. Pandora and the Google Mobile App come in second and third. The rest of the top ten is as follows: Shazam, Movies by Flixster, the Weather Channel, Google Earth, Bump, Skype, and Paper Toss, which is the lone game on the list.

The top paid apps for the iPad differ greatly from the iPhone's. Only a few games made the iPad's top ten paid app list, which is surprising. The iPad's larger display makes it an even more ideal platform for gaming, so the fact that few games made its top ten is a tad ironic. The list is a mix of entertainment and productivity, which points to the well-rounded nature of the tablet device. SoundHound is the iPad's top paid app. Stickwars, FlightTrack, Backbreaker Football, and Calorie Tracker complete the top five. The rest of the top ten includes BlocksClassic, iFart Mobile, GoodReader for iPad, Cro-Mag Rally, and Ambiance, in that order.

The iPad's top free apps list holds some similarities to that of the iPhone. Pandora comes in first, with Google Mobile App and Movies by Flixster taking second and third place. Google Earth, yelp, Fandango Movies, Remote, iBooks, Bible, and Solitaire complete the top ten. The iPad's top ten lists do show the strength of the tablet as a device for e-reading. The absence of Facebook in the top ten may be alarming at first, but Facebook has not released an official iPad app as of yet. When it does, you can be sure that it will do its best to climb to the top of the downloads rankings.

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